Orlando singer/songwriter Zoya Zafar returns with gorgeous new single ‘Wordz’

click to enlarge

Photo by Stephanie Dowling

Zoya Zafar blesses Orlando with new music this week

After emerging on the scene and capturing the local music cognoscenti in the mid-2010s, Orlando artist Zoya Zafar went relatively quiet for several years. Last year, she began performing live again, and now she's finally unveiling new music for the first time in four years.

Just-released single "Wordz" is a furtherance of the atmospheric indie-pop trajectory Zafar has been on for a while now. But while her melodic introspection is still bathed in lo-fi textures, the lens is notably more up-close this time. "Wordz" radiates a beguiling bedroom aura of warm sonics that make it feel like she's singing from only a pillow away. Besides a welcome return, it's Zafar's most intimate and crystalline work in ages.

The good news is that this single is just the beginning of a trove of new work that Zafar already has in the can. She's completed an entire album and plans to release singles from it this year with a full drop either late this year or early next. "Wordz" now streams everywhere.